Pundit Elite Enraptured by Hillary’s ‘Flawless Campaign’

[babylonsister]

Pundit Elite Enraptured by Hillary’s ‘Flawless Campaign’
by Jeff Cohen


The satirical video short “Harlan McCraney, Presidential Speechalist” offers a comedic explanation of why George W. Bush comes off to many Americans as an inarticulate, even stupid politician. It’s intentional: There’s “a genius behind the stupidity” - speechalist McCraney (played by Andy Dick), a consultant who coaches Bush to come off as a misspoken, folksy everyman.

So while many of us see an ill-equipped president not up to the job, there’s McCraney, off-stage, exclaiming “Yes!” and pumping his fist in victory as Bush mangles the “Fool Me Once” aphorism.

A similar dichotomy exists as many of us watch Hillary Clinton in TV interviews or Democratic debates. We see a politician vacillating to the point of self-parody, talking out of both sides of her mouth on issue after issue. “Her flat, monotonic voice lays out yards of opaque white gauze,” observed Barbara Ehrenreich. “Where does she stand? Over here, and a little to the side, and maybe a few steps to the right.”

But that’s not how elite pundits see it. Powerful media voices praise a “flawless campaign” and declare that Clinton has “won every debate.” They enthuse that she’s “never off-message” and “doesn’t make mistakes.”

I imagine a bunch of Harlan McCraneys in the Clinton campaign, scripting her long-winded non-responses to please first and foremost the D.C. political press corps - with enough doubletalk to avoid offending the Democratic Party base.

Democratic activists who want their party to forthrightly move the country toward peace and justice may be frustrated by Clinton’s mumbo jumbo and non-answer answers, but the privileged, unelected (never term-limited) punditocracy finds those same answers to be brilliant.

The reality is that Clinton and the pundit clique (with a spectrum from conservative Republican to conservative Democrat, from GE to GM) are largely in sync in holding positions that are not only unpopular among Democrats, but unpopular among the public at large.

To obscure this reality, Clinton keeps issuing doubletalk, and corporate media keep cheering.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/05/4331/

[Mythsaje]

1. Hmmm...now there's a familiar sounding message. n/t

[yurbud]

2. As Jim Hightower said, the real primary is with a very small group on Wall Street

and Hillary's plans for inaction and capitulation to them is music to their ears.

[ShortnFiery]

3. "the privileged, unelected punditocracy finds those same answers to be brilliant"

Very well written. K & R for more folks to PLEASE READ.

:dem:

[cosmicdot]

4. “Harlan McCraney, Presidential Speechalist”

if you've never seen the video, here's the link
http://gprime.net/video.php/presidentialspeechalist

[bvar22]

5. K&R

Even Tweety noticed after the last debate.
It was like he suddenly saw the light. He asked his panel, Hey. Anyone here notice that Hillary never seems to answer the question?

WOW. Tweety had an on the air epiphany.
Better late than never....I guess.

[Qutzupalotl]

6. I have no doubt that the Andy Dick character exists in real life.

A team, more likely, to make a preppy into a cowboy.

Now, off to read that interesting article...
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/05/4331/

...because right-leaning pundits were saying she's the one we'll pick well before it was apparent. Interfere much?

[bemildred]

7. Liars lie. nt

[illinoisprogressive]

8. I think most voters are savvy enough to see both candidate and elite as out of touch